Title: DistractionAuthor: Ariane DeVereWord count: 100Rating: GWarnings: NoneDisclaimer: Sherlock belongs to way more powerful and wealthy people than me.

Distraction

Sherlock hasn’t had a case for eighteen days and is bored witless. On day nineteen John abandons him for over six hours; when John finally arrives home, his left shoe – still on his foot – is wrapped in a plastic bag.

“Right,” he announces. “I’ve been all over London: took a taxi to six different places and stood in the soil at each place. Your task is to work out exactly where I’ve been, and in which order.”

Sitting down on the sofa, he swings his left leg up onto Sherlock’s lap and grins madly at him. “The game’s a foot.”

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Author’s Note: In May 2012 this story was chosen for inclusion in Sherlock’s Home – The Empty House, a book published to raise funds for The Undershaw Preservation Trust, a charity trying to preserve the former home of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Shortly afterwards a poll was run by the publishers for readers to choose their favourite story from the book and to my amazement my story won the poll.

The poll closed at the end of July 2012 and I’m still waiting for the prize which was promised to the winner – for the story to be narrated and recorded for download by Nicholas Briggs, who plays Sherlock Holmes in the Audio Adventures.

To show how it should be done, on 2nd August 2013 my lovely friend Mirith Griffin decided to commemorate the one year anniversary of me winning the poll and, in the space of a couple of hours, did what a professional publishing company couldn’t do in a year and produced a podfic – or, rather, a video-fic – of the story.

Oh you god damn genius. I am standing here with my hand over my mouth trying to hold in the mad giggles. This, bar none, is the drable to beat. Forever. Oh lord. Put a link to thi on your Tumblr so I can reblog it, please?